Warlock Invasion of Naruto.

......

That day, Nara Shikaku was working in the small building where the Jonin were stationed.

Although the Third Shinobi World War is drawing to a close, Iwagakure and Konoha have reached a complete ceasefire and have begun discussing an alliance, but the details are still under discussion, and Konoha will naturally try its best to gain benefits.

Didn't you see that the Third Hokage resigned because of this? So we can't give up even a single bit of the benefits we can fight for.

Now, Konoha's only concern is Kirigakure on the eastern front. After being severely damaged by the Hyuga and Uzumaki alliances several times, Kirigakure no longer dares to launch large-scale offensives.

The Eastern Front suffered heavy casualties, and Konoha also suffered considerable losses. As the leader of the Jonin class, Nara Shikaku also needed to help the Third Hokage with matters such as rewarding those who had contributed, comforting the wounded, and distributing pensions. Although he could not make the decisions, he had to draft a specific plan for the Hokage.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in casual clothes and smoking a pipe, strolled leisurely into the Jonin team's office like an old man taking a walk after dinner.

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage! What brings you here?"

The ninjas who were working put down what they were doing and bowed slightly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Please don't stand on ceremony, everyone. I was just passing by and came up to take a look around." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.

"Lord Hokage, please have a seat."

A Jonin brought over a chair.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down and said with a smile, "I'm no longer the Hokage. Now I'm just like everyone else, a Jonin."

"Although you have submitted your resignation to the Daimyo, you will still be the Hokage until the Fourth Hokage officially takes office, and you will always be our respected Third Hokage!"

No sooner had Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking than a Jonin hurriedly spoke up.

For some Jonin who came from humble backgrounds, there were many people who truly respected him.

If it weren't for the Sakumo incident, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi made some mistakes in commanding the war and abandoned the idea of ​​having Iwagakure pay war reparations in order to end the war as soon as possible, he wouldn't have had to abdicate given his previous high support among Jonin.

Of course, the Jonin who had always supported Hiruzen Sarutobi still felt indignant on his behalf, because they believed that the Third Hokage's contributions to Konoha far outweighed his faults.

"Thanks to everyone's hard work over the years, the village has become better and better. Now I can finally retire with peace of mind." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, looking to be in a good mood. He looked at Nawaki at the back of the crowd and waved to him, saying, "Nawaki, come and walk with this old man."

Nawaki paused for a moment, then stepped forward and nodded, saying, "Yes, Third Generation Lord."

Since Nawaki's severed limbs regenerated and his strength greatly increased, he has become a prominent figure among Konoha's Jonin, with a current mission success rate of 100%.

Many people lamented that Nawaki's disability during his early, spirited years might not have been a bad thing for him. It was precisely because of his disability that Nawaki matured and became much more resilient.

Out of a desire to compensate the Senju clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi transferred Nawaki to the Jonin class, where he trained under Shikaku Nara.

Nawaki is currently Orochimaru's disciple, and Orochimaru is currently his most favored successor, so Nawaki's prospects are very high.

In previous years, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade had a very strained relationship because of Sakumo's affair. Furthermore, due to the wrong decision in the Wood Release experiment, the Senju clan suffered heavy losses. Therefore, it was necessary to ease the tension, since he had the entire Sarutobi clan behind him.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi has arranged for his eldest son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi, and his wife to join the Anbu, serving as the Anbu Chief and Anbu Captain respectively, if the Fourth Hokage is unwilling to give them important positions, the Sarutobi clan will eventually be squeezed out of the political center and gradually marginalized.

After all, once Orochimaru takes power, he will definitely control the vast majority of the real power.

A new emperor brings a new court; back then, the words spoken by three generations of emperors were no longer as effective as they are now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nawaki left the Jonin team and walked on the streets of Konoha.

"Third generation sir."

"Sandaime-sama, Mr. Naoki."

Along the way, the villagers would greet the third generation warmly, and people would also greet the rope tree from time to time.

In earlier years, the villagers called Rope Tree "Young Master Rope Tree" because of the respect shown to the first and second generations.

As for now, Nawaki has truly earned everyone's recognition through his own abilities.

"Rope Tree." Halfway there, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring and suddenly spoke.

“Lord Sandai,” Nawaki said respectfully.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and waved his hand, saying, "No need to be so formal. I am the disciple of your grandfather, the Second Hokage, and your teacher Orochimaru, as well as your sister Tsunade, are all my disciples. In fact, you are my grand-disciple and a beloved Jonin in the village. There's no need to be so distant with me."

"Yes." Nawaki nodded, but still maintained basic courtesy, and it was clear that he and the Third Hokage were somewhat distant.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes; it seemed that Nawaki couldn't be as close to him as Minato.

Are you still blaming me for what happened with Bai Yu?

“Bai Yu’s departure was his own choice.” Rope Tree shook his head.

He had known Bai Yu for many years, but it was only in recent years that he truly came to understand that Bai Yu, despite his gentle appearance, was actually a person with sharp edges and strong opinions.

Even without the White Fang incident, it seems Konoha still wouldn't have been able to keep Shiroha.

Of course, if it weren't for the White Fang incident, perhaps Bai Yu wouldn't have been so resolute in leaving and directly broken ties with the higher-ups.

Nawaki used to be filled with longing and admiration when facing Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But in recent years, he has had his own thoughts.

The third generation is a pure yet complex person.

He dedicated decades of his life to Konoha and deserves the honor of being selected for his hard work and great achievements. However, he also had his own selfish desires and hoped that Konoha would continue to follow the direction he set. Therefore, many outdated and erroneous policies were retained, and he also made many mistakes that should not have been made.

Seeing that Nawaki had fallen silent, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he changed the subject and said, "Is Tsunade still unwilling to come back? Actually, I think she would be absolutely capable of being the Fourth Hokage."

Still testing the waters!

Rope Tree frowned slightly, then said, "My sister still keeps in touch with me while she's away. She said she wants to relax and doesn't want to come back for the time being. She has sacrificed a lot for the village over the years, and now she's tired and wants to rest. I, her younger brother, can also do my part while she's gone."

“Since this is Tsunade’s wish, we can only respect her decision.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, “However, I believe that Tsunade, the Second Hokage, and the First Hokage will all be pleased with your current growth.”

"By the way, what has Orochimaru been up to lately? It seems like I haven't seen him in a long time."

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly changed the subject.

"Orochimaru-sensei seems to be busy developing new techniques lately; I've only seen him once," Nawaki said.

The two continued strolling and chatting on the street.

Suddenly, four ANBU ninjas wearing animal masks appeared in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. One of them quickly came to his side and whispered something in his ear.

"What!?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Lord Third Generation, what happened?" Nawaki couldn't help but ask.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was uncertain as he said to Nawaki, "Come with us."

As they spoke, the four ANBU disappeared first, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nawaki also used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

The group left Konoha and quickly headed towards Orochimaru's stronghold outside the village.

After the six people broke through the barrier and entered the underground laboratory.

They encountered Orochimaru, who was constantly moving around in front of the operating table.

Orochimaru only came to his senses when the six people burst out of the door, creating a huge commotion.

He was holding surgical forceps, his hands stained with blood, and even his face was splattered with blood.

In the dimly lit environment, under the illumination of the operating lights, Orochimaru looked incredibly gloomy.

"Orochimaru, you actually used your own villager for human experiments, why?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes revealed deep disappointment and regret. He never expected that his most valued disciple would do such a thing, especially when the position of Fourth Hokage was about to be decided.

"Lord Orochimaru, why would a ninja like you do such a thing?" A nearby Anbu ninja couldn't help but ask. When they received the information, they immediately informed the Third Hokage. In fact, they themselves found it hard to believe.

Orochimaru paused for a moment, glanced back at the ninja lying on the experimental table, and suddenly realized what was happening.

Danzo!

"Orochimaru, you have disappointed me greatly! I noticed your malicious and ambitious eyes a long time ago, but... I never expected you to go to this extent!" Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly formed hand seals and used the Summoning Jutsu to summon the Monkey King.

"Orochimaru-sensei, this can't be real, right?"

Nawaki stared blankly at the ninja on the operating table. At this age, he was still a child who hadn't even reached adulthood.

Meeting the disappointed, shocked, and pained gazes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nawaki, Orochimaru's expression turned cold as he walked towards the six of them, saying as he went, "Satoshi-sensei, are you going to kill me?"

"I...I..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes gradually welled up with tears. He seemed unable to bring himself to kill Orochimaru.

boom--!

Orochimaru gave Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nawaki a deep look, and a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body.

Caught off guard, all four members of the secret service fell to the ground.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Nawaki were only slightly affected.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Orochimaru quickly ran towards the base.

'Wood Release: Advent of the World of Trees!'

Rope Tree used Wood Release to try and stop Orochimaru.

However, the thick tree trunk was snapped in two by Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hand, allowing it to escape through the gap.

Throughout the entire process, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not make a move, standing there blankly.

"Sarutobi, why don't you stop him!" the Monkey King said anxiously.

......

In the dense forests of the northern part of the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru stumbled through the forest in a disheveled state.

"Damn Jiraiya, he's so persistent," Orochimaru cursed under his breath.

After learning of his defection, Jiraiya intercepted him on the way and insisted that he return to Konoha to explain things. Orochimaru naturally did not want Jiraiya's childish behavior.

As a result, Jiraiya forcibly took him back, and the two had no choice but to fight.

In fact, both sides had some reservations.

The final result was naturally that Orochimaru won.

Even without Jiraiya using Sage Mode, Orochimaru's forbidden techniques developed over the years are no joke.

Orochimaru, in particular, while showing mercy, was far more ruthless than Jiraiya.

After injuring Jiraiya, Orochimaru consumed a large amount of chakra and was also in a difficult situation.

This incident has ruined his reputation. No matter how he tries to explain, it's too late. Most importantly, the Third Hokage's attitude has finally made Orochimaru completely disappointed.

The master does not know the student, and the student does not know the master.